Abstract:
Research on climate change and nanotechnology -- atom-by-atom building of electronic devices and circuitry --- would be increased in President George W. Bush's proposed $6.55 billion U.S. Commerce Department budget.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, one of the agency's scientific components, would receive $641 million, or 21 percent more than the current funding approved by the House of Representatives last week. The increase would help finance research on neutrons, climate-change measurement and nanotechnology, which the government estimates may someday support a $1 trillion industry.

Nanotechnology "promises to redefine 21st century manufacturing just as the assembly line redefined 20th century manufacturing," William Jeffrey, the institute's director, told reporters in a conference call from his office in Gaithersburg, Maryland.